Lonely Winter
by Black Moon Rising
Summary: Jamie was snotty, rude, stuck-up, and generally unpleasant. But for some reason, I couldn't help but be drawn to him. His every attempt to distance himself only brought us closer together. And ultimately, it made for a Winter that I will never forget...
1. Chapter 1

Yup, I'm not dead! Lo and behold, my newest fiction! As always, enjoy and comment!

**Also, the parts in italics are about Jamie. Normal text is the main character's narration. **

* * *

_"Jamie...Jamie..."_

_Jamie eyes flickered open.  
_

_"Jamie..." A quiet, feminine voice that sounded almost...desperate, and pained whispered in his ear. He recoiled instinctively and looked wildly around,__ but nothing but the suffocating blackness was keeping him company._

_"Who's there?" he called.  
_

_"How could you let me die? Why didn't you stop me?"_

_A shadowy figure appeared in front of his eyes and Jamie drew in a sharp breath. The face was pale and kind, the eyes, a deep shade of royal purple: a face of perfection. "Why?" she asked again in a frightened voice. "Do you not care for me?"  
_

_"Please, my Goddess!" Jamie exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I just need more time!"_

_The Harvest Goddess began to fade before his eyes. He reached out with his hand, as if to bring her back to him. But it grabbed nothing but air as the floor fell beneath him, and Jamie soared into the abyss..._

_He gave a gasp as he awoke sitting up in his bed, sweat coating him in a second skin. His heart pounding an embossed pattern on his chest, he threw himself back down on the mattress and stared at the ceiling. The Goddess's words were echoing in his head, over and over.  
_

_"I'm sorry..." he whispered to himself as he put the pillow over his head and prepared himself for yet another long night. "Forgive me."

* * *

_

Winter.

A time of death, quiet, and sadness.

But it's also a time of starting over, as I learned that first year.

My life was at what you'd call a moot point. The city life can be hard on a young girl, fresh out of high school, with dreams and ambitions too big for her own good. An office job didn't suit me; I was too active to waste my days on a _desk job_.

So, naturally, when I saw the opportunity, I took a risk and went for it. The newspaper ad read something like this:

_Looking for something different?  
Tired of the same old, same old?  
Need a change in routine?_

_Then come to Flowerbud Village! The land is fertile, perfect for farms, and the people are kind!  
And who knows? Maybe you'll meet that special someone here too! For directions, call..._

"Farm...?" I said aloud to myself as I ate cereal in my minuscule apartment. "I could do that..."

The next thing I knew, I had a bag packed with only the bare essentials. I had no desk job, my apartment was sold, and no limitations. I was free, and I was on the bus to Flowerbud Village.

I will admit, I was nervous. Here I was, no home, no job, just expecting to waltz in this unknown place in the middle of nowhere and automatically assume that they'd have a place for me. Stupidly enough, I hadn't even thought of that prior to boarding the bus.

I spent most of the 3-hour ride tracing icy patterns on the bus window and worrying about what was going to happen to me.

"Flowerbud Village!" The bus driver called, breaking me from my stupor. I grabbed my bag and was halfway up the aisle when I froze.

"Where's the village?" I asked, staring the the emptiness in front of the bus.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "This is as far the the bus will go. You're about half of a mile away from the village. Just keeping going straight and you'll find it easily."

I put on my bravest face as I got off the bus and into the cold. I shivered in my coat and began to walk. The snow crunched under my feet as I walked carefully to avoid any icy spots I might find. I broke my wrist last winter falling on ice; I wasn't going to take any chances.

Just like the bus driver said, I found the village quickly. Good thing, too. I was pretty sure that if I went any further my feet would freeze. I was surprised to see a few people roaming around, talking happily and carrying things, like they didn't mind the cold. "Hello?" I called to one of them.

Only one heard me, or at least he was the only one to look up. It was a young man, maybe my age, was wearing a dark coat. And he had something long and slim slung over his shoulder. He walked up to me and I realized that it was a fishing pole.

I was right: he was about my age. He had the tanned face of someone who spent a lot of time outside and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. He had a broad smile that, for some reason, instantly made me feel warm. "Hey," he greeted. "Are you lost or something?"

"A-actually," I stammered, inwardly cursing my natural shyness. "I was moving here, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do..."

"Ohhh," he grinned. "Don't worry about that. You see that building over there?" He pointed to a small building not too far from us. "That's Thomas's house. Go talk to him, he can help you. I'm Ray, by the way." He held out his hand and I took it.

"I'm Jill Evans. Nice to meet you, Ray."

He readjusted the fishing pole over his shoulder and began to walk away. "Well, if you're staying I suppose I'll probably be seeing a lot of you around here. Good luck"

"B-bye!" I said. I turned in the other direction and literally ran to the building Ray had shown me, ready to be out of the cold. I knocked gently on the door; it was wood and looked so old that it looked like it'd crumble if you even touched it.

"Come in!" said a man's voice. I turned the doorknob and blissfully warm air instantly blasted into my face. I was in the door and had my coat off in half a second. The person who called me in was sitting at a table, hunched over something. He had a very...curious appearance. He was smaller than me and had on a long red coat that made him look even shorter. A bristly mustache covered his lip, and an oversize top hat completed the image. "What can I do for you?"

"Y-yeah, I'm Jill Evans, I think I might have talked to you over the phone about moving here..."

His dark eyes lit up. "Oh, yes! I remember you! You saw our advertisement, didn't you? Well, you're in luck! There's a house down by the beach, perfect for one such as yourself. What do you plan on doing here, Jill?"

"I thought about raising a farm here," I answered weakly, a little overwhelmed at the moment. "I need a change of pace."

"Good for you, because the land around that house is quite fertile and beautiful grazing land in the growing months. Would you like me to take you on a tour around the tour, and then to your house?"

I nodded my head rapidly. "Please!"

Thomas led me out of the house and we quickly went through the village, saying hello to everyone we met. Everyone seemed so nice...Joe, Katie, Woody, Gwen, and Carl, especially.

"Whew!" Thomas said after we'd finished. He wiped his brow. "That should be everything...Oh, no! Wait! There's one more place!" I followed after him, getting more and more overwhelmed by the moment. Finally we stopped at a fence painted a peculiar shade of purple that stood guard over a neat ranch. Standing in the center of the field, and looking at the sky, strangely enough, was a tall guy with a fedora over shortly cropped hair and wearing a colorful shawl over a pair of dark pants. He quickly turned around, and that's when it happened.

He stared right at me with light-colored eyes. And I don't mean it was a surprised who-was-this? look. It was nothing less than a glare. A hateful, go-jump-off-a-cliff glare that a predator would have stalking its prey. Even though I knew I couldn't get any colder, I felt as though someone had just poured ice water down my back. "H-h-hi," I stammered in fear.

He continued to glare at me before pulling his shawl closer to himself and stalking away, leaving me and Thomas standing there. "Who was that?" I said in a tiny voice.

"Jamie," Thomas said grimly as we made our way to where I assumed my new house was.

"Is he like that to everyone?"

"Yes...but I've _never_ seen him look at _anyone_ like that."

Oh, great. Barely an hour and I already had a mortal enemy.

Thomas and I were silent the whole way as I brooded. Thomas's announcement brought me back, though. "Here we are!" My jaw dropped. The house was _tiny_. It looked like a shack that was on its last leg. "What do you think?"

I could now see why he was just giving me the house.

"It's...nice," I lied, trying to sound enthused.

"Excellent! There's a bed, a table, a heater, and a tool chest in there. The last person to live here left all of their tools, so I guess they're yours know." Thomas laughed and his mustached wiggled humorously when he did. "If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me or anyone else. People here are helpful, even to a stranger." I couldn't help but remember how quickly Ray had been to help me earlier, even though we'd never met.

"Well, it's getting late, so I guess I'll get going. Good luck to you, Miss Evans! I'm interested to see how you fare in our tiny town!"

As soon as Thomas had left, I picked up my bag and went inside. My house didn't seem as small on the inside as it seemed on the outside, which made me a little happier. The heater had already been turned on, so I threw off my coat and reveled in the warmth. A clock up on the wall proved Thomas right; it was getting late. I guess I hadn't really noticed the sun setting.

Instantly the extent of my exhaustion hit me. Not even bothering to change my clothes, I crawled into my bed and pulled the sheets up to my chin. It didn't take me long for sleep to take me.

The last thing I saw before I fell asleep was a pair of pale eyes glaring at me in the back of my mind.


	2. Chapter 2

My first official day as a farmer did not start off well.

When I woke up, I didn't open my eyes at first. "I just had the craziest dream..." I said aloud. I think I had moved to this decrepit little house with the crazy idea of starting a farm...

I bolted straight up as realization hit me.

And there was a sharp thud as something hit the floor by my bed.

"Ow..." said a tiny little voice. "That really hurt, you know!"

A saw a flash of red, another of yellow, and a third of blue. Thinking to myself that I just _had_ to be dreaming, I peered over the edge of the bed...

..and came face to face with a little man all dressed in yellow.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!" we both screamed. He jumped back and I attempted to do the same, but I only got myself tangled up in my bedsheets. Now I could see that there were _three_ of them, all staring at me in terror.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!" I shrieked.

"Y-you can see us?!" the red one squeaked.

"She can see us?" the blue one whispered to the yellow one.

"Uh, yeah, I can see you," I said, slightly sarcastic.

"Uh oh..." they said simultaneously.

I didn't give them time to keep rambling before I untangled myself and scooped up the red one in my hand and held him up to eye level. "Okay, now answer me a couple of questions: who the heck are you, what are you doing in my house, and how did you get into my house?"

"Um, that's three questions..." the blue one said. I glared at him and he fell silent.

"We're Harvest Sprites!" the red one said. "I'm Arthur, this is Billy-"

"Hi," the blue one said weakly.

"-and he's Carlos."

Hi," echoed the yellow one.

"We just wanted to see who the new arrival to the Village was!" Arthur whimpered. "You didn't answer when we knocked...and your front door was open, so we came right on in!"

"Safety isn't as important here as in the city," Carlos pointed out.

"One more question: what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well-" Arthur began. He didn't get far, though.

_KNOCK, KNOCK_

"Hello, Jill? Are you there?" called a woman's voice from outside.

"Yes, just one minute!" I responded. I put Arthur back on the ground and pulled myself up to full height-about six times bigger than his. "Hurry up and go hide!"

"No need!" Billy smiled as he bounded for the door. "Normal people can't see us!" I raced him there and threw it open, hoping my visitor would ignore the tiny elfish creatures having free reign of my house.

It was Ellen, standing there and holding in her arms a little puppy. "Good morning, Jill," she greeted.

"Good morning."

"I...have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure, anything!" I answered, remembering that people here were extremely friendly, so I may as well follow suit.

"This puppy is a stray...he came here a little while before you did. I'd keep him, but I'm too busy with the our ranch and helping Hank and Blue."

I took a mental register. If I remembered rightly, Hank was her dad, and Blue was her cousin.

Ellen continued, "And I figured that since you're working on a farm now, you might like some help when you get animals to herd. He's a nice dog, doesn't bite, and he's cute as a button!"

As if to make the point clear, the dog stuck his cold little nose out of Ellen's coat and his floppy orange ears wiggled. "Awww..." I said, my soft spot for dogs taking over. "I guess I'll take him off your hands."

"Oh, thank you!" Ellen exclaimed. "Here's his leash, and you can get dog food at our store. We won't charge you for it though. Don't tell my dad," she teasingly winked at me.

After Ellen had left I took the dog back into my house and frowned at the Harvest Sprites vegetating on my bed.

"Puppy!" Billy squeaked as I set myself down next to them.

"Yeah, he's mine now," I informed them.

"What's his name?" Arthur said.

I thought about it for a few moments before deciding on the perfect name. "Roscoe."

"Such a great name! Are you going to walk him? We need to take you somewhere, anyway..." Arthur said, his voice trailing off.

By this point, I had pretty much decided that the Harvest Sprites weren't mass murderers who'd throw me into Sunny Lake as soon as they got the chance, and I'd trust Roscoe to eat them in case that _did_ happen. "Why not..." I answered rhetorically. I nabbed my coat and hooked the leash to Roscoe's collar, and followed the Harvest Sprites out the door.

They didn't, I'm happy to say, lead me to the Lake. Instead, they took me north towards the mountain. I passed a few people on the way, and I guess to them I just looked like a young girl walking her puppy.

"We're almost there!" Carlos told me from his perch on my shoulder. "Just head up that mountain ramp and we're be there."

Roscoe suddenly stopped and started looking around. "What is it?" I asked him.

The puppy's nose wrinkled and he started yipping. "Knock it off!" I scolded firmly. But Roscoe was going to have his own way. He suddenly bolted, and I, in surprise, had the leash yanked from my hand. "Roscoe!" I called. "Come back here!"

Roscoe ducked under a nearby fence. I vaulted over it, adrenaline supplying all of my energy. Carlos was holding onto my shirt for dear life, but I didn't notice him as I gave chase.

Finally, Roscoe stopped, and to my horror, right in front of a mean-looking black dog. They were growling brutally at each other, but I bounded forward and scooped him up into my arms. "Shoo!" I waved my hand at the other dog, who instead growled at me!

"_Shawn!_" A male voice hissed, and the black dog fell silent instantly. The owner of the voice stepped out from a building which I think was a barn...and then I recognized him.

"Oh, crap," I said to myself.

It was the same guy who had glared at me so bitterly yesterday. His face was tinged an angry red as he stormed up to me. I backed away and made myself smaller until I felt the fence pressing against my back, but he just kept coming. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to trespass!" The words came out quickly and in a tiny, fearful voice. "It won't happen again!"

"What do you want here?" Jamie hissed, now upon me like a snake ready to strike.

"My dog must've s-s-smelled yours and he got away from me. I'm really, really sorry!" I stammered.

"Don't you _ever_ come near-" Jamie suddenly stopped, and I saw his eyes dart to my shoulder. I heard Carlos whimper in my ear and felt Arthur and Billy clinging to my legs. Jamie's eyes grew a fraction wider and became hard as they turned to me. "You can see them, can't you?" he said, a little quieter but still with the same intensity.

"Y-yes," I choked out.

Jamie didn't talk for a moment or two. "Listen to me, and you too, Sprites! _I _will be the one to free her. And don't forget that! Now get off my property and don't show your face here again."

I had _no _idea what he was talking about.

With Roscoe firmly in my arms and the Sprites attached to my clothes, I sprinted as hard as I could go away from Jamie. I could feel his cold eyes staring at me the whole way, and I didn't stop until he was gone from sight.

"Explain," I gasped.

"Once we get to the Spring, we will," Carlos said, the usual bounce gone from his voice.

"Go across that bridge," Aruthur instructed. I did as I was told, and found a cave. All three jumped down and began to walk into the cave. I didn't have much choice, so, with Roscoe in tow, I followed.

* * *

_"Damn it!" Jamie yelled, slamming his door behind him. Shawn ducked in the door just before it closed, and looked up at his master. Jamie took no notice, and instead grabbed the nearest thing-a vase-and threw it against the wall. It smashed against the wood and the pieces fell to the floor. He stood there, breathing hard, before finally collapsing onto a chair. He put his face in his hands, swearing again. _

_"Why her?" he wondered aloud. _


	3. Chapter 3

After a long hiatus, I'M BACK! I'm STILL getting reviews on this story, and I've had an overwhelming desire to finish one of my favorites, as it probably will be one of my last fanfictions for a very, very, very long time. As always, thank you to all of my readers!

* * *

I stared open-mouthed at the scene in front of me.

The cave was brightly lit by a strange, ethereal light. A soft burbling alerted me to a shimmering pool surrounding us. On each side of the cave, more Harvest Sprites were staring at us, wide-eyed in disbelief, whispering to each other and pointing at us. But the most incredible thing about the cave lay ahead of us.

It was a statue of a young woman. Her face was locked in a face of eternal sadness so beautiful that my heart clenched just looking at it. Her delicate hands were folded together against her long dress as if praying, and her long hair cascaded down her back. She was so lifelike that I half expected her to start moving at any moment.

"Miss Goddess!" Arthur squeaked, bounding forward and stooping in a bow. "How are you doing today? This is Jill, she wants to help you come back to life.

"Huh?" The sound escaped my lips before I could stop it. "What do you mean?"

Billy scuffed his foot on the ground. "How to begin...how to begin...Okay, this is very important, so listen up!

"A really long time ago, the Harvest Goddess was beautiful and happy and this land prospered because of it. But the people of the village began to lose faith in her and went their own ways. The only one who continued to believe was a young boy living here. He came and visited her everyday for many years. We all loved him and the Harvest Goddess took solace in the fact that at least one person who still trusted in her. But one day, just a few years ago, he stopped coming at all. We waited for a very long time to see him again, but he never came. The Harvest Goddess, in her grief, turned herself to stone." Billy wiped tears from his eyes and gazed forlornly at the statue. "We've been trying to find a way to save her ever since. The last thing she said to us was 'The one who can see our world will be the one to rescue me from my stone prison' and we've been searching for that person ever since. Now that you're here, you can help the Goddess!"

"Woah, woah. Back up," I said. My brain was spinning, completely overwhelmed at all of this information at such a short time. "You need me to help her? I don't even know _how _to do that!"

Arthur, Billy, and Carlos looked at each other with fearful, guilty glances. "I guess you don't have to...It's just that we've been waiting for so long..."

They were obviously trying to guilt me into this, and so far, they were doing one heck of a job. It was a few tense moments later when I replied, "Fine. I'll do it."

The result was like an explosion. Every Harvest Sprite in the place went nuts and started jumping for joy and yelling at the top of their lungs. Feeling embarrassed, I picked up my dog, who had started barking for no other reason than to make noise too.

After a full minute, the noise finally dimmed and I was about ready to return home. Suddenly, all talking ceased entirely. There was a sudden tenseness in the air and I felt a prickle on the back of my neck. I turned around, dreading what I expected to see.

Jamie stood there.

The first thing I noticed was that his face looked entirely different. It looked incredibly sad and just a little bit guilty as he took in the sight of the Harvest Sprites, but turned to anger as he saw me. "I told you not to come here," he said, advancing on me. Jamie directed his anger now at the Harvest Sprites. "And I told you _I _would be the one to save her!"

Everything suddenly clicked in my head. "_You're _the boy from the story?"

Jamie flinched. "You TOLD her?!" The Harvest Sprites cowered in fear at his roar, but I wasn't afraid. I'd already been through this. Enough was enough!

"STOP!" I yelled, louder than I had intended. Jamie stopped his fury and stared at me in disbelief. "I don't care who you are, Jamie! You're doing one hell of a job of making yourself look like a jerk. If you were so worried about the Goddess, you wouldn't mind my help!" By now my face was going red, though whether from embarrassment or anger I wasn't sure. "If you're so concerned about her, why don't you try showing it?!"

Jamie's voice took on a deadly tone. "You don't know anything about me or what I've done. Now do us all a favor and go back to your farm, pack your bags, and get out of the village. Now."

I stared him full in the eyes. I held my head high defiantly and answered, "No. I'm staying right here no matter what. I have a Goddess to free."

His head gave a peculiar jerk, and without another word he stormed out of the cave, leaving silence in his wake.

That day changed how I lived in Flowerbud Village from that point on. I guess there are some things that are just meant to be.

* * *

As I returned home, I didn't see him anywhere on his farm. I bundled my coat tighter against me and started off toward the Cafe. My stomach was beginning to growl since I hadn't had breakfast.

The Cafe was incredibly busy for that time of morning. Most of the villagers greeted me as I came in and returned to their meals. Katie, her auburn curls bouncing as she walked, showed me to the last open table in the building. I ordered blueberry pancakes and a straight black coffee; after my blowup a little while ago, I needed something strong. Katie returned bearing the mug of the greatest stuff on earth. "Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure, not at all."

Katie sat down in the seat across from me. "How are you with baking?" she asked sheepishly.

I gulped down the scalding hot coffee, burning my tongue in the process. "Um, okay, I guess."

"Well, tomorrow's the Thanksgiving Festival. Everyone's going to be getting together here and eat cake, but Carl and I can't bake them fast enough! I hate to ask this, but do you think you can help?"

I chugged the rest of my coffee and wiped my mouth with my napkin. "I don't see why not."

"Thank you SO MUCH!" Katie exclaimed in relief. Across the room, the door opened and a blast of chilly air enveloped the restaurant and someone walked in. Katie jumped up. "They're going to have to sit here with you...is that okay?"

"I guess. I'll have another coffee, if you don't mind, too."

The spunky waitress crossed the room and escorted the customer to my table. He took his hood off and I recognized Ray from before. He took the seat across from me and gave me a broad smile. "So how's your first day going?"

I grimaced involuntarily. "Fine, I guess," I answered vaguely.

We sat talking for a long time. Ray was a wandering fisherman who liked the rivers and lake in the area. This was the longest he'd ever stayed in one place, and he said he really liked it in Flowerbud Village. For pretty well the first time that day I was genuinely smiling and laughing, thrilled at having already found a close acquaintance. When Katie brought my pancakes, I was only half-conscious of how good they were, I was so interested in the conversation.

"So where did you come from before here?" He would ask.

"The city," I replied.

"Ah...a city girl!" he exclaimed. "Bet it's really different here than there."

"Well, yeah...it's much smaller, and the people are so friendly! I think I really like it here."

"That's good." Ray took another drink of his drink and cleared his throat. "Uh...Jill...do you know about the Thanksgiving Festival tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Katie just told me about it. I'm going to help them bake cakes for it."

Ray chuckled slightly. "Well, do you maybe want to meet up here tomorrow? With me?"

I was a little surprised by his question, but a little happy too. I think I may have been starting to blush, too. "Sure! Sounds like fun."

The fisherman's blue eyes brightened considerably. "Awesome! Everyone comes out here around noon, meet me then?"

"It's a date."


End file.
